hour with a $1,000 signing bonus. amazon's starting pay is now 18 bucks an hour sometimes with a $. 3,000 sign boeing us in. target beginning wages as high as $24 an hour. >> what we're seeing is there's lots of job vacancies and not, inform job seekers so it is very competitive. >> reporter: the staff crisis has some taxpayers worried. >> we need the money right away. >> reporter: they need it to pay bills, with inflation driving up the cost of basically everything, and help them avoid going to a food pantry to feed their family. >> $11,000, spread it apart in 12 months, pay some bills. >> reporter: what do you say to the taxpayers who are eager to get that refund as quickly as possible? >> i would say we are eager to give them to you as well so we're super committed to getting those employees on board. >> this is a testament to the economy. >> it is. >> also, we were just talking during the break about walmart, right? >> right. >> and the average u.s. wage for walmart $16.40 an hour. so that stim beats the irs starting wage. that's how competitive things are right now. and if you think about that backlog of millions of tax returns being unprocessed, it's just a really difficult situation for anybody who's on any kind of budget trying to pay for gas, the rising cost of groceries. it doesn't show any signs of stopping. >> so what was a great deal a couple years ago, $15 an hour, they're now not competitive with amazon, with walmart, with target. so i guess treasury needs more money? >> it sounds like they need more funding. so historically, the irs has been gutted in a lot of ways. they lost so many workers in the pandemic. now federal officials are asking for more support, funding. they need that to compete. but even if you look at the bigger picture right now, the irs can't compete unless they go with the other incentives, so getting a promotion. but eve than signing bonus of $1,000, it is tough to compete right now. >> and the whole remote issue. >> exactly. most of these jobs are in person. >> jo ling kent, thanks, jo, for being on this morning. three minutes past the top of the hour. this morning explosions rocked the city of lviv in the western part of ukraine. local officials say at least seven people were killed, 11 injured. one last struck a train station with shock waves shattering the windows of a nearby hotel that was housing evacuated ukrainians. to date, lviv has been a safe hub for refugees. russia is also stepping up its attack in eastern ukraine in the country's second largest city of kharkiv. a cluster of russian rockets struck the city center on sunday, killing at least five people and injuring 20. several apartment buildings and a market erupted in flames. russian missiles also destroyed a world central kitchen run by chef jose andres where many refugees could get meals. four of his staff members were injured in the attack. meanwhile, ukrainian forces are not backing down, not backing down in the southern city of mariupol, rejecting russia's surrender or die ultimatum with the shattered port city appearing to be on the brink of falling. more than 2,000 ukrainian soldiers and civilians are holding out in a steel plant as the last pocket of resistance there. by some estimates, 95% of mariupol has been destroyed. local officials say more than 100,000 civilians remain trapped there and are facing severe shortages of food, water, and medicine. let's bring in retired four-star general barry mccaffrey. he's an nbc news military analyst. general, what's the hope for those in the steel plant trying to hold the line in mariupol? >> well, i think they're fighting for history more than anything else. it's been remarkable, their sacrifice in holding out for 50-some-odd days simply astonishing. it's also grabbed the attention of the russian armed forces in the south. pretty stupid move. they should have encircled and bypassed and continued on their mission, which was to close off the maritime coast. instead they've got a destroyed city, massive russian casualty, and these people will fight to the end. the bigger issue is the war has now morphed into a different kind of conflict. the bitterness, the atrocities, the humiliation of the russian military and putin tells me that we don't know how this conflict will come out. but what will happen in the next 90 days as an example -- and the key, quite dramatically, is can we accelerate a quality taltive improvement in the technology the ukrainians can field before the russians conduct a single massive integrated attack from the east. the question is open. >> general, one of the shocking stories from this war along with the war crimes obviously, is just the horrific culture of the russian armed forces, an army that was supposed to be one of the best in the world, now doesn't even look like the second best in ukraine. and we have reports of yet another general killed in ukraine. this is just the highest number since world war ii. we have reports of, again, just continued discouragement among russian troops, among the russian rank-and-file. the question is, they've been trying to get the donbas for eight years. things have gone horrifically over the past 50-plus days. what is the chance of them turning things around if the united states, if nato gets even more advanced weaponry into the hands of the ukrainians? >> i don't think i know. i don't think the ukrainians know. their determination is simply unbelievable. but i don't see how the ukrainians can pull this off unless we give them the ability to fight mobile warfare in the east, unless we give them the capability to strike deeper targets. >> and what does that mean, general? specifically, what do they need? >> we just gave one battalion 18 guns, .155 artillery. in my division in desert storm, i had ten battalions fighting for me the last day of the war. scale is inadequateinadequate. we can't train f-16 pilots in 90 days. we can give themmissiles a couple hundred-miles range. these are dramatic qualitative changes. i think if we don't get going on it, the ukrainians will be in serious difficulty. the russians do have terrible morale. they're putting conscripts, largely untrained, into battle. they're getting their general officers killed. they can't create a sergeant nco corps in short order, so they've got some real difficulties i don't think they can surmount. but they've got mass. they've got a five-fold advantage over the ukrainians in airpower. so, again, i think nato's challenge is going to be a coalition of the willing nations, is get qualitative improvements and technology into the hands of the ukrainians. >> poland's ban on russian coal is now in effect. it bans the use and import of russian coal in the country. the move represents a significant shift from russia's previous dominance as poland's coal provider. in 2020, more than 70% of the coal used in poland came from russia. over the weekend, ukrainian president zelenskyy renewed his calls on western leaders to enact embargoes on russian oil. zelenskyy also asked the biden administration to designate russia as a state sponsor of terrorism. jonathan lemire. >> that's something the white house is considering now, discussions, no decision made yet. general, i wanted to the you -- you're welcome to weigh in on that, what impact that would. moreover, you alewded to something that's important. russia still has a vast advantage in the sky in terms of jets and such. we've heard from zelenskyy, he's asked for a no-fly zone. we know that's not going to happen per se. but they're focusing now on part of this new military equipment we need, things to shoot down more russian planes because we are losing that battle right now. it's not over, but they're losing it. how significant is that? what more can the west do and how can the west help ukraine keep the skies overhead safe? >> well, first of all, air battle space is still contested. it's astonishing. ukraine has done a nag i have in sent job. they're hiding assets, moving radar, turning them on and off, they still have aircraft that are flying. there is an s-300 system, air defense system going into ukraine right now. that's good. we're providing more stingers, goes up to 11,000 feet. that's good. but we can't really train f-16 pilots, we can't put patriot anti-missile capability on the ground because of training and maintenance. so it's a tougher proposition. a deep-strike capability against a russian cruise missile will help enormously, as will going after the russian navy in the black sea. a tremendous blow to them losing their flagship because it was a command and control and an air defense capability firing cruise missiles. so i think that's another area to change the nature, the dynamics of the battle. >> and why, general, do we not already have a deep-strike capability in the hands of the ukrainians? and why what do we need to do in the next week or two to give them that deep-strike capability? >> well, the war is evolving. that's part of the problem. european command and 15 other nations came together rapidly, pumped tremendous amounts of equipment across the borders. that's why the ukrainians had a victory in the north on the encirclement of kyiv. now the nature of the conflict that's coming is a large war of maneuver forces, and during this struggle, they need different kinds of equipment that they don't really have. i do remind people, though, that the manpower confrontation is essentially the ratio is one-on-one. the ukrainians do have a lot of soviet-era armor that they're putting into action. what they need now, though, is a qualitative difference. they've got to be able to go after those russian cruise missiles. some of the training requirements on apache helicopter creates us two years to create a pilot. these aren't solutions. there are some and we need to accelerate them across the border and stopped being concerned as we are about putin's escalation of the conflict and the nuclear exchange, which is illogical madness. and he clearly can't really expand the conflict to other nato nations. we have to focus on ukraine, the decision will be made in the next few months. >> general, i want to underline something you just said. of course it is our nature because we're a democracy unlike china, unlike russia, for us to push our leaders, constantly push our leaders. no matter how much they do, always to ask for more. some people may whine about that. that's what makings us great. we're never satisfied. i asked you what else we could do, how to give team that deep-range capability, and you said something -- you said this war is being fought in phases. and i just want you to explain how well you believe the west has actually done, because you said, you know, the success in the north has happened because the west has responded appropriately. so, yes, of course they need more now, but grade how the united states, how nato has responded over the first 50 days of this war. >> well, it's astonishing. look, i was in political headquarters in nato for two years. it took us five years to make a simple decision. so now that's the nature of what happens. now we've got a four-star air force general in europe, walters, who is supreme allied commander of europe nato, the u.s. ucom commander. but if he can't get something done through the political council, they brought in 15 other nation, a coalition of the willing, and that's how we've been able to get all this incredible support to the ukrainians in a matter of weeks, not months or years. inside d.c., though, that process has also been amped up incredibly. i mean, we can go to endless meetings for years on end where lawyers from doj and the white house, defense, and justice argue over the viability of a course of action. they did short circuit that. but now i do think we need to lift our eyes and say the coming battle for the sovereignty of ukraine is a u.s. battle. it's a european battle. and so we really got to change our view of how to go about this. >> retired four-star general barry mccaffrey, thank you very much for being on this morning. and we have much more ahead on ukraine. we'll talk to a ukrainian student studying abroad here in the u.s. who is now unable to return home. what her new reality is and this of her family, trapped in kyiv. plus, the former president of the country tells us why he thinks president biden should travel to kyiv. we'll also take a look at the morning papers and the opening bell. we're back in just a moment. before nexium 24hr, anna could only imagine a comfortable night's sleep without frequent heartburn waking her up. now, that dream... . ...is her reality. nexium 24hr stops acid before it starts, for all-day, all-night protection. can you imagine 24 hours without heartburn? when you join ihop's new rewards program, the international bank of pancakes, and start stacking pancoins toward free food, you get a smile on your plate. download the app and join the rewards program today. when in the ukraine broke out, ukrainian students in the united states were left in limbo unable to return home. one student is a freshman at cal state, fullerton, and a member of the school's tennis team. she joins us now. maria, thank you so much for coming on with us. tell us, so where is your family? where did you come from in ukraine? >> hi. i'm maria. i'm an international student from ukraine. so i'm originally from kyiv, ukraine. and all my life i live in kyiv. and my family still in kyiv now. my grandparents, and my grandmother died right before the war started. my mother and my dog, older sister, my uncle, aunt, and my cousins. so all of them are hiding in the family house. it's one hour away from kyiv. it's kind of safer a little bit but still every day they go into their, like, shelter because they can still see helicopters flying, and it's just terrible. i can't imagine how bad the situation is. so usually when i'm asking my mom how are they doing, they of course telling me, yeah, like we are fine, don't worry about it. but it's not safe there. so i'm so scared about it. >> yeah. and i understand your best friend lived in bucha, but made it out. >> yeah. yes. so she's from bucha, and she was there since the war started. and all the connection disappeared with her on march 4th. they were hiding in the shelters. they had no food, no heat, no water. so they spent like 14 days in the basement with her family, and they were bombed continuously. and then finally, like, when they wanted to leave, people, like, took them to locate and they were not allowed to leave their houses. so then finally, when they had the chance to leave, my friend say. i could see, like, dead bodies, destroyed military equipment right on the floor. so i just can't imagine how bad the situation was because what was happening was just horrible because they were, like, raped. and i can't express my emotions and how bad was that. also in bucha and irpin, they were like one of the main tennis clubs, so i play so many tournaments, championships there. i won some of them. and now i can see pictures that everything just destroyed. all my life is completely different. >> very, very difficult. mariia, thank you so much for sharing your story with us. >> we're so thankful for you to come on and let americans know exactly what you and your family have been enduring. and best of luck to you. and thank you. >> thank you so much. let's look at the must-read opinion pages. "the washington post" digital opinions editor has a new piece entitled "will the media let sen mike lee go unquestioned?" he writes -- "on friday, cnn released more than 100 text messages from lee and representative chip roy sent between the 2020 election and january 6th, 2021 to then white house chief of staff mark meadows. in the elections immediate aftermath, both lee and roy encouraged trump and his aides to overturn the results. as trump and associates such as his attorney, rudy giuliani, beclowned themselves with conspiracy theories, lee and roy became more critical of the election subversion efforts. but both men still afld kated for conservative lawyer john eastman's plan to have republican-controlled state legislatures submit alternate slalts of electoral college delegates. so a republican senator, a self-proclaimed constitutional conservative, no less, mission led the country about his participation in a plot to overturn a presidential election. and yet not one of the five major sunday talk shows mentioned one word about it." >> we are now of course -- >> we have here -- >> of course this morning, you look at the text, here's a guy who's a constitutional conservative that was talking about subverting american democracy by looking for a work-around from the public voting for an american president. >> we now know -- >> by the way, let me just say, a constitutional conservative, self-proclaimed, even after 62, 63 federal courts said no, there's no widespread voter fraud here, this is groundless, he still, this so-called constitutional conservative, still trying to find a work-around around the rule of law. >> we lose sight of the idea sometimes of how many other republicans were part of this idea, that it wasn't just the white house, it wasn't just trump and his closest allies in west wing. ted cruz and mel brooks were having conversations. senator mike lee was part of this. of course remember how many of those republicans, more than 100 republican lawmakers, voted to decertify joe biden's victory on january 6th. that number can't be repeated enough. >> by the way, you have mike lee trying to cover his tracks from what he tried to do in subverting democracy. mel brooks suddenly is going, oh, no, mr. president. everybody is trying to cover their tracks now. too late. too late. you're either for democracy, for free elections, even when your side loses, or you're not. >> so a columnist has a new piece for "new york times" entitled "a biden bloodbath?" he writes -- "biden is a decent man as matter of course and tactic he strikes me as not entirely built for hyperbole and hype, for beating his chest while he boasts. it's not part of his character. he is soesh and straightforward. many americans wanted him as an antidote to donald trump for precisely this reason, but america has changed its mind and its mood. it wants a show and a showman to distract from its misery. biden is not that. and he is being punished for not being a huckster. i hate that emotional connection plays such an outside role in our politics, but i also can't deny that it does. if americans can't cheer you, they'll chide you." >> jonathan, you saw with donald trump constantly self-promoting, everything, lying about everything. that's why this "snl" joke was so funny. >> oh, my gosh. that was great. >> little cesar. because donald trump took credit for everything. we look even at the ukrainian war. he's lying through his teeth saying that putin would have never invaded. he's lying through his teeth -- you know, after, again, praising vladimir putin nonstop. when the economy, one of the most maddening things was, you know, as far as gdp and other measures of economic growth, he might have been, like, sixth or seventh in the postwar era. but every day, best economy every, best economy ever. i would turn on my tv set and i would see people on television networks, not fox, television networks, of course, yeah, this is the best the economy has been. like they believe it. biden doesn't brag. biden doesn't go around talking about, you know, how great he is. by the way, the quinnipiac poll, 33%, he's closer to 40%, 41%. but, again, he's being punished because he's, as the column said, he's not beating his chest and self-promoting all the time. >> trump was a liar, but an undeniably great salesman. he could brand and talk and lie. whether the stock market or sometimes things put in place by the biden administration, he would take credit for it. the biden administration, they're frustrated by in many ways the economy is doing well. but public perception and polling suggests most americans don't realize that. >> we have e real a real problem with inflation. >> no doubt. >> but in other areas, things are going great. all these trumpers that got rich under trump, they're doing better than ever. yet they'll sit and bitch and moan, the biden economy. again, they're doing better than ever. >> inflation is a real concern. but you're seeing the white house -- i don't know if they're the type to beat their chest, but they're promoting more. they finally have the president back on the road. he hasn't been able to travel many about a month because of ukraine. he was on the road a couple times l.a. week, heading to go to new hampshire tomorrow, out west later in the week. >> do you know what else? an increased demand in fried food. >> what? >> fried food is one of americans' oldest obsessions. the pandemic took it to a new level. more people are ordering french fries with their fast food and seeking solace in fried chicken. >> oh, yeah. >> yeah. >> as paul mccartney would say, what's wrong with that? >> restaurants deep-fat fryers have doubled due to overuse. nearly half of u.s. households now own air fryers. and there aren't enough cheese curds to go around. >> andrew's got the air fryer thing. i'm not going to lie, it looks like -- >> both my daughters have one. >> this is the greatest advancement since the printing press. >> front page of "the wall street journal." >> the pandemic -- >> air fryer. you can do anything. i could air fry my phone. >> it changes people's routines. joe, you've been a fan of fried food forever. >> so gross. i'm trying to go vegan. >> we had mary mccartney on -- >> you were inspired by her. >> she's got the greatest show of all time on discovery. zas knows talent. i'm joking. but anyway, mary mccartney has this show on discovery -- she comes on and jack scarborough, my buddy, 6'3", seemed to be 6'5" baseball player, tall guy, but he's not eating that. he's kind of -- you know, he's going -- he doesn't do fried foods anymore. he's going more vegetarian, little eggplant thing. >> i want to thank mary mccartney. it's a health thing for him and also sort of a moral thing for him too. >> up next, andrew ross sorkin. >> talking about something important. >> i don't think jack wants you to talk about that. >> going to break. >> he doesn't. >> by the way, good first baseman. >> yes, he is amazing. he's incredible. >> right-handed. flexible over there. batting cages. >> coming up -- >> he's healthy. >> -- andrew ross sorkin is going to talk about how disney has become a punching bag over free speech. and breaking news this morning, alex jones, info wars, has filed for bankruptcy. >> moral bankruptcy years ago. now financial bankruptcy. plus, what do barbie, krispy kreme, and beef jerky have in common? donny deutsch is here. >> is beef jerky actual beef? >> we'll be right back. eed? like how i customized this scarf? check out this backpack i made for marco. only pay for what you need. ♪liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty.♪ ♪("i've been everywhere" by johnny cash) ♪ ♪i've traveled every road in this here land!♪ ♪i've been everywhere, man.♪ ♪i've been everywhere, man.♪ ♪of travel i've had my share, man.♪ ♪i've been everywhere.♪ ♪♪ 37 past the hour. this morning we spoke with former president of ukraine, petra poroshenko and asked him at this point in the war on day 54 what do ukrainians need. here's what he had to say. >> we need that putin should be thrown away from ukrainian soil. and for that, ukraine demonstrate a unique capability to fight, and we need three things -- weapons, weapons, and weapons. weapons number one. this is the anti-aircraft missile and jet fighter. number two, this is the embargo. total energy product of russia because you know that if ukraine obtain less than $2 billion military assistance, russia this year obtain almost $50 billion. and weapons number three, this is the complete isolation of putin. and with that situation, we definitely win, demonstration, the unique unity of ukrainian people and global solidarity with ukraine. if we can invite president joe biden to visit kyiv, this is the demonstration of the global leadership of the american president and the solidarity with ukraine giving putin the strong message we never give up. >> at this point, what, if any, price do you believe ukraine should be prepared to pay for peace? what should be ukrainian's point at this point. must the russians give up every inch of ukrainian territory, or do you see an argument for any compromise whatsoever? >> please, let's change your question, because this is not ukraine pay the price for peace. this is the world should pay the price for peace because if ukraine give up, putin never stop. putin go as far as we allow him go. and nobody knows which door he knocks tomorrow. in poland, in baltic states, in bosnia, in europe. nobody knows. and with this situation, peace, help us to do your job to stop putin. >> former president of ukraine petra poroshenko speaking with us earlier this morning. >> we have donny deutsch and andrew ross sorkin coming up next. that's incredible. i can't believe they're both here. >> exciting. >> like chemicals you use you don't want to mix because they're combustible. donny, quickly, i'm shocked. we've heard for years about how great the russians are at disinformation, how great they are at churning information. they have been not only destroyed on the battlefield by ukrainians, but you look at what people like poroshenko, zelenskyy, what the ukrainians have done and sort of these legends that have grown up, the grandmothers putting sunflower seeds in russian soldiers, saying put these in your pockets so when you die at least something will grow from where you sat. you have people in my kids' schools retelling that story to social studies classes. it's extraordinary what they have done. >> in the theater of war, it's no contest beyond the atrocities of war, is what zelenskyy, the brand of yooushgens in terms of the strength and resiliency versus the brand of putin and russians looking discombobulated and weak and dysfunctional. stunning the way two countries, two empires have portrayed themselves so different. >> by the way, it makes a difference. in war, you read the history of world war ii, go back to the battle in 1940, winston. churchill made the british people believe there was no way they could lose, even at the height of the german bombardment when a lot of americans thought they were going to lose the war, only 3% of the british people thought they were going to lose. he carried them through. he made them believe they did the rest. >> coming up, live to white house for the latest reporting on the biden administration and a look at today's morning papers and then brand up, brand down with donny and business with andrew ross sorkin. much more ahead. >> business. >> yes. he's adorable. >> fourth hour of "morning joe" continues. ng joe" continues. and i'm still working. in the kind of work that i do, you are surrounded by people who are all younger than you. i had to get help somewhere along the line to stay competitive. i discovered prevagen. i started taking it and after a period of time, my memory improved. it was a game-changer for me. prevagen. healthier brain. better life. bipolar depression. it made me feel trapped in a fog. this is 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[phone ringing] hm. no way! no way! priceline. every trip is a big deal. ♪ ♪ bonnie boon i'm calling you out. everybody be cool, alright? we've got bonnie right here on a video call. we don't take kindly to video calls. oh, in that case just tap to send a message. we don't take kindly to messages neither. in that case how 'bout a ringcentral phone call. we don't take kindly to no... would you can it eugene! let's just hear her out. ha ha ha, i've been needing a new horse. we've got ourselves a deal. ♪ ♪ ♪ ringcentral ♪ this is not the stallion i was imagining. entresto is the number one heart failure brand prescribed by cardiologists and has helped over one million people. it was proven superior at helping people stay alive and out of the hospital. don't take entresto if pregnant; it can cause harm or death to an unborn baby. don't take entresto with an ace inhibitor or aliskiren, or if you've had angioedema with an ace or arb. the most serious side effects are angioedema, low blood pressure, kidney problems, or high blood potassium. ask your doctor about entresto. in nebraska, the aloha world paper says they're cutting back on food stamps as inflation causes the biggest increase in food costs in decades. paymentings to low-income individuals and families are ending as governors across the kun end covid disaster declarations. in palm springs, california, the headline of the desert sun asks if the state has reached a turning point on crime oop. a growing number of californians are feeling frustrated and unsafe and are calling on politicians to take action as both crime and homelessness explode across the state. and in colorado springs, "the gazette" reports colorado is just one of many states scrambling to confront the deadly fentanyl crisis as overdoses hit an all-time high. >> that is such a problem across the country. >> yeah. the state's legislature is now debating adding public health measures to reduce the risk for users while increasing penalties for dealers. let's go to new mexico where the las cruces sun news says local school districts are placing a major focus on helping students cope with stress. they say many are still feeling the impact of more than two years into the pandemic. it's a condition. >> for such a long time. >> it is. mental health more important than ever. >> you have academics who are raising this real concern. we're going to have to come face-to-face with our mental health crisis. and, you know -- >> with the pandemic increase. social media. >> and insurance companies are going to have to actually compensate mental health providers and the federal government is going to have to do much more. the states aren't going to do it state to state. you have to do wit the federal government and legislation is going to have to be passed so insurance companies have to step in, especially for younger americans, and make sure that mental health providers are paid a wage that, again, makes business sense for them to be taking on more clients. >> to minnesota, the duluth news tribune says the gap between college tuition costs and financial aid for students is growing. in 2002, federal state grants covered 91% of tuition for students. last year it was 69%. >> i've got to say how much higher can tuition get? inflation for tuition over the past ten years has been grotesque. it really has. middle class americans have little hope of sending their kids off to college without racking up massive, massive bills and loan debt. >> it's impossible. >> the federal government at some point has to say if you want to take part in our federal loan program you'll have to bring tuition rates down, especially for state schools but also for private schools. >> you were just looking at north dakota's jamestown sun, which says two counties in the state are looking at reopening areas of land for wind power development. >> what does donald trump say about this? >> he doesn't like it. two years ago the county restricted plans for wind development over concerns it could cost coal jobs. >> if it kills birds, the beautiful bald eagle, and causes cancer. >> causes cancer and kills birds. >> where do you get that from? >> unclear. >> okay. andrew ross sorkin. let's start with the story in "the new york times" on how disney has become such a political punching bag. here's the thing -- both sides hate them. >> both sides hate 'em, but brooks barnes has a fabulous piece about this. what's happened in the past week and a half, which has changed the dynamic. you've talked a lot about the brand that is disney. you now have specifically republicans in the state of florida talking about revoking some of the tax credits and tax benefits and the way disney world operates in that state, in addition to that on a federal level, you now have some politicians threatening the possible copy right over mickey mouse, which comes up in 2024. they've been granted an extension, year after year after year. in '24, they're going to say, we need an extension again on mickey mouse. congress has given them that before. and now you have some people who are saying -- i mean, people in washington saying, we're not going to give it to you. >> that has republicans -- >> typically republicans. >> so republicans are going to war against mickey mouse. >> basically. >> why? >> because of the "don't say gay" bill in florida and bob chapek coming out -- >> what does don't say gay have to do with mickey mouse? >> i'm with you. you have disney originally saying nothing, the ceo came out, effectively against the bill in florida. and then a whole bunch of republicans said, uh-huh, we don't like you getting involved in politics and now we'll throw it back in your face by effectively taking -- >> so really quickly, can we just generalize? this is an ongoing challenge for ceos and companies. >> all sorts of companies. >> because there's a political issue that comes out. the ceos say they're going to stay out of it. and it's usually the younger workforce that pressures them, saying, you have to get involved in this. so they have to respond to their younger workforce. they get involved, and then they find themselves out on a limb, on a political issue, that i think in some cases may be 50, 60, 70% of americans disagree with them on. >> this becomes the question. do you listen to your employees? by the way, do they strike? because part of what happened to disney was, you had a whole group of employees, not just lpgt employees themselves, but those who wanted to support them , effectively, publicly protesting their own company. >> alex jones, quickly, go. >> alex jones filing for bankruptcy. you'll see the headlines everywhere, but to understand the reality of what's happening, he's effectively trying to avoid paying the families of sandy hook. those families have now become creditors of his. that's the story. >> just grotesque. >> brand down, alex jones. thank you. >> stay with us, because we're doing brand up, brand down and we want you to jump in here. donny's look at which brands are looking good at the start of the week and which ones are having some issues. donny, first up, joe biden. >> and joe, you talked about how that quinnipiac poll is a little bit of an outlier at 33%, but the number underneath it, kornacki talked last week about hispanics at 43%, blacks are 20% in the other direction. the scary numbers, 18 to 24-year-olds, 21% approval rating. and gallup has almost -- >> gallup says, with older americans, he's about the same. younger americans, just bleeding -- >> they're the ones being hit by inflation. if you're losing 18 to 24 and you're a democrat, you're losing. we're looking at the apocalypse coming. >> krispy kreme, you'll love this brand up. as opposed to disney, this is what's called smart, typical, current event marketing. they have said to consumers. we are going to mark the price for our doughnuts, which is usually $10 for a dozen, we'll peg it to the price of gasoline. whatever the price of gasoline is, we'll make it. that's smart, topical marketing. "fortnite" said they were giving two weeks of their revenue to ukrainian refugees. >> gop down. a new republic poll asked democrats and republicans, january 6th, do you see that as an act of insurrection or an act of patriotism. 57% of republicans said, guess what, it's an act of patriotism. they're watching that video, the same videos we play every single day, and to them that's patriotism. that's pretty scary. >> legitimate political discourse that the rnc -- >> it's unbelievable. >> huge brand up for barbie. they're taking a page from the marvel playbook and making barbie into a live action news. margot robbie playing barbie, ryan gosling playing ken, will farrell just joined the cast. and what's so smart about it, they realized, they're not a toy company, they're making a thomas the tank movie, a hot wheels movie. this is a smart way to really unearth what the real benefits are. >> nfts, i don't understand them. i don't care to understand them. that's all i've got to say. >> nfts for those playing at home, nonfungible tokens. you buy a piece of art, you own digitalally, nowhere else. last year, someone paid for $2.9 million for jack dorsey's first tweet ever. one more. charlie rose. >> charily rose last week did an interview with warren buffett, sat down. now, charlie rose was me too, very heinous sexual allegations against him in the workplace. does this tee up, maybe for al franken, is there a second act for any of these people. obviously, the harvey weinstein's of the world, they belong in cages. but for al franken, is there a second act? >> it should be a thoughtful discussion. i'm just saying, there might be second acts for some people who were canceled along the way. >> so he also is turning off zoom as the down. is zoom here to stay? >> zoom is here to stay! >> but turning off zoom, being with your camera off, are you -- >> by the way, 92% of employers say, you turn your camera off, you have no future with this company. even if you're on your own. >> 100%, show your face or go to the office. >> right! >> show your face on zoom or go to the office. >> as the head of morgan stanley said, if you're well enough to go to a restaurant, you're well enough to come to work. >> lastly, we'll bring you eugene daniels. eugene went to work. and not only did he go to work, he went to work looking good. eugene -- >> thank you. >> what's on -- >> first of all, i'm so distracted by how great that jacket is. >> it's gorgeous. >> it's hard to even ask. >> it's a coat. it's cold out here. what's happening at the white house today? >> something i'll be watching today and this week is a different rhetoric and different tone from the biden white house against republicans. today, they sent out a fact sheet on tax day, knocking republicans for the 11-point plan that rick scott put out that would raise taxes on folfo, and i'm told you'll continue to see that, as president biden goes out and does more political events, he'll hit republicans more. and it shows that they are seeing the same things that we're seeing. that a lot of the blame for a lot of what's going on right now is that biden is feet from the american people and they're trying to shift that blame. and you've heard from democrats, i've heard from democrats who say they've been wanting this, they've been wanting the democratic leader here at white house to do more of that. we laid out their tax plan and talked about their rick scott plan and they'll be doing this more publicly and ferociously, because it may have a change. >> eugene daniels, as always. andrew, what's the one big story you're looking at today. >> i'm always looking at inflation. >> it's inflation. >> i would say that every day. donny, what about you? >> i don't really think much after the show. i don't have much to say. i'm just good looking and that's it. >> first, i can attest that eugene on zoom, always puts the camera on, he always looks great. >> i can't believe we have to say this. >> it's patriots day. red sox play in one hour. >> coming up, chef jose andres is going to be on andrea mitchell today. that does it for us this morning. jose diaz-balart brings up the coverage in one minute. diaz-bae coverage in one minute subway now has italian-style capicola on the new supreme meats and mozza meat. just like my nonna makes when she cooks! i don't cook. wait, what? it's a good thing he's so handsome. subway keeps refreshing and refre- four major shootings over the holiday weekend left at least three people dead. dozens injured. we'll bring you the very latest. and we're taking a closer look at the southern u.s. border, where new numbers show that the number of migrants reached the highest levels in more than two decades last month.